The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for providing improved visual and optionally tactile features on a substrate, such as on a substrate used on a consumer article.
As the sophistication of consumers continues to evolve and increase, the importance of aesthetic features, especially the integration of form and function, also increases. Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of consumer electronics, such as in the design of mobile electronic devices (such as, mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, phablets, notebook computers, laptops, etc.). There have been many instances in which a consumer electronic device that exhibits some enhanced aesthetic feature over competing devices will enjoy significantly higher acceptance in the marketplace despite relatively comparable functional characteristics.
For example, there have been efforts in the marketplace to add a visual element, such as an image or color feature, to some surface(s) of a mobile electronic device, such as to the back side of a mobile phone. While consumers have come to accept and even desire such visual elements, a consistent issue with previous efforts is the relatively flat two-dimensional and/or passive appearance of the visual element.
Accordingly, there are needs in the art for new methods and apparatus for providing visual and optionally tactile features on a substrate.